Mid-term self-assessment revisited - making the most of the Eaquals quality cycle

1. Self-Assessment Revisited
Making the Most of the Eaquals
Quality Cycle
Eaquals Members’ Meeting
18-19 November 2016 Florence
Ludka Kotarska
©Eaquals 06/08/2014
www.eaquals.org

2. Institutional Self-Assessment
• Objectives and principles
• Scope and methods
• Practical implications:
- Sharing experience
- Re-visiting Eaquals quality cycles
- Where do we go from here?
- How can we make it work better?
2

3. Self-Assessment
3
• What does it mean for you?

4. Self-Assessment
• Openness to examine
• Constructive self-criticism
• Honest and non-defensive exercise
4

5. Self-Assessment
• Key challenges
• Quality assurance assessment
• Benchmarking
• Innovation
• Development
• Enhancement
5

6. Your Institutional Experience
6

7. How would you assess this
experience?
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8. Levels of Implementation
• Collective Reflection and Evaluation
• Awareness
• Development
• Sustainable Continuous Quality
Improvement
8

9. Self-Assessment
• Why?
• What?
• How?
• Outcome?
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10. Self-Assessment: Principles
• It should never be felt as threatening
• It should never be used for
punishment or reward
• It should not be used to assess an
individual
• It should enable staff to stand back
and reflect on what they are doing,
and how others perceive it
10

11. Self-Assessment: Aims
• Identify institutional strengths and
shortcomings
• Review and improve the effectiveness of
the institution’s strategic plan
• Demonstrate a higher degree of
professionalism internally and externally
11

12. Self-Assessment: Benefits
• Increases ability to make strategic decisions
• Establishes critical and priority needs and actions
• Improves systems and monitors institutional
progress according to benchmarks
• Identifies training needs
• Generates more proactive attitude among staff
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13. Self-Assessment
• encourages reflection
• gives staff a voice
• engages and empowers staff
• provides a safe framework for giving and
receiving feedback, and acting on it
effectively
• is a great leadership tool
13

14. Self-Assessment
• Can be conducted using a variety of
different approaches
• The overall focus is promotion of
an organisation wide discussion
on the current development stage
and future development direction
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15. Basic questions
• What is it?
• How does it work?
• Who’s doing it?
• Why is it significant?
• What are the downsides?
• Where is it going?
• What are the implications for e.g.
teaching and learning?
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16. The steps to take
• Assign a leader
• Assemble a team
• Specify a time framework
• Gather documentation
• Develop an action plan
• Implement and review it
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17. Eaquals Survey:
Impact of Self-Assessment
• 78% very positive and beneficial
• 88% would do it again
• Other comments:
 very long and repetitive
 time consuming
 extremely thorough and well documented
 blue-sky thinking opportunity
 sparked or reinforced a culture of quality
awareness
 promoted team-building
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18. Let’s take a closer look
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19. Eaquals Self-Assessment
• Self-Assessment Scheme for
Prospective Members
• Mid-term Self-Assessment for
Accredited Members
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20. Self-Assessment for
prospective members
Aims:
• enable an institution to make a
considered judgement
 on its quality standards
 whether and when to proceed with the
application for Eaquals accreditation
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21. Eaquals Self-Assessment Scheme
• Self-Assessment Questionnaire
• Self-Assessment Activities
• Guide to developing an action plan
• Eaquals Glossary
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22. The Questionnaire
• covers 12 main Categories of the
Inspection Scheme
• helps to identify developments
needed to meet the Eaquals
Standards
• its results are used to draw up an
action plan
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23. Self-Assessment Activities
• follow the format of the
Questionnaire, cover 12 Categories
• are designed to make the SA more
meaningful and realistic
• enable staff to look at the institution
from the perspective of different
stakeholders
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24. Action Plan
• based on the results of the
Questionnaire and Activities
• a useful team-building exercise
• should include answers to the
following questions
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25. Basic Questions
• What do we need to change?
• What action is needed?
• Who will take responsibility for it?
• What is the deadline for the action to
be completed?
• What are the intervening steps which
may be needed during the process?
• What will the final outcome look like?
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26. Sample action plan
Change
Needed
Desired
Outcome
Action
Suggested
Responsible
Person
Final
Deadline
Interveni
Deadline
To perform a
mapping
exercise that
directly
references our
curriculum in
relation to the
CEFR
Framework.
For all staff and
students to have
a greater
understanding of
the CEFR
framework and
use this more
effectively in
school language
assessment.
Stage 1 –
research of
CEFR and
translation of
any
necessary
documents.
Stage 2 – a
written
curriculum
document
that uses the
CEFR
Director of
Studies
Course
Programme
Coordinator
11. 16
writing
01.17
staff
training
completed
09.16
first meetin
10.16 –
review
meeting,
document
written.
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27. Eaquals Quality Cycle 1
SA
AP
AVI
FI
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28. Mid-term Self-Assessment:
Aims
• Encourages continuing development
and reflection against the Eaquals
Charters and Standards
• Ensures there are no areas of concern
with regard to continuing accreditation
• Offers support and guidance
• Provides a written record of your
development since your last inspection
28

29. 29
Summary of feedback gathered since your last inspection
Feedback from learners
and sponsors such as
parents, employers or
corporate HR training
managers
Conclusions of
management and teacher
meetings, and QA
processes
Assessment of teaching
strengths and
weaknesses gathered in
performance review
meetings and lesson
observations
Students exam/test
results if relevant to your
situation
Other external feedback
including Eaquals
recommendations and
any other audit results
Please give a summary of any strengths and weaknesses you feel you are aware of, in the institution, based
on your findings above:

30. Mid-term Self-Assessment Report
• feedback from learners, sponsors,
external auditors
• conclusions of management and
teacher meetings, QA processes
• assessment of teaching
• strengths and weaknesses
• developments since the previous
inspection
30

31. Eaquals Quality Cycle 2
I
D
MT
SA
AP
C
31

32. Issues arising
• How can we make mid-term self
assessment more meangful?
• How can it better facilitate an internal
dialogue about quality and the process of
ongoing improvement and development?
• How can it add value to re-inspections?
32

33. 33

34. For consideration
• Focus mid-term Self-Assessment
on:
implementation of recommendations
formulated by inspectors at the
previous inspection
assessment of meeting indicators of
excellence
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35. Post inspection recommendations
carry out a self-review to assess
significance of recommendations, degree
and effectiveness of their implementation
list supporting evidence and reflect
depending on the outcome formulate an
action plan
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36. Self-Assessment Questionnaire
• based on indicatiors of excellence
• 12 main Categories
• headings the same as the ones for
Categories of the Quality Standards
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37. Sample Questionnaire:
• Teaching and Learning
• Overall Assessment
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38. Suggested procedure
• inform staff about the rationale of
the project
• identify Categories crucial for your
institutional development and
involve staff in the selection process
• conduct self-assessment
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39. Suggested procedure
• carry out a strengths/weaknesses
analysis
• identify priorities
• design an action plan
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40. Proposed scenario
• nomimate project leaders
• agree on time frame
• monitor the proces
• measure and assess results
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41. The Self-Assessment Report
• Should clearly describe the state-of-
the art
• Should analyse the situation:
Do you meet the formulated
criteria? What evidence can you
provide?
What are the weaknesses?
 What are the strengths?
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42. Follow-up: Possible scenario
• The report is discussed with
Eaquals
• Priorities are identified
• Focus of the re-inspection is agreed
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43. Thank you
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44. www.eaquals.org
Further information:
Ludka Kotarska
Eaquals Director of Accreditation
lkotarska@eaquals.org
www.eaquals.org